By: Izumi Hasegawa June 27, 2017
What I love about Wonder Woman is not just that the film is everything that every female badass in the world hoped it would be, but it has an important message about how selfish war is and where true power derives from in each of us. There is also another interesting point about the roles men and women play in creating war and preventing it.
I have to be honest, when I first saw Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I was not sure it was a good fit casting wise. Then I saw Wonder Woman, and I wondered no more – Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman. Gadot is the perfect combination of feminine power with a sprinkle of humanity and that all transcends onscreen.
At the press conference, Gal was standing and showing her perfect body. She stated the reason was she was injured, “I am not becoming a diva. I threw my back out.” This is 100% Gal Gadot, perfectly balancing confidence and vulnerability.
Q: What does it feel like for you to know the entire world is seeing you as the new Wonder Woman?
Amazing. Overwhelming. I feel very grateful. So far so good. It’s like a dream come true. Working on this project has been such a phenomenal, unique, special expedience. Now, with some of the reactions and feedback we have been getting, I just feel like thank you! I am super excited and I’m very, very happy.
Q: One of Wonder Woman’s greatest super powers is her compassion, which is a power every strong woman can have in real life. Do you agree? Do you hope that’s what people take when seeing the movie?
That’s one of her biggest strengths. I remember when you (points to Director, Patty Jenkins) and I first met we were having dinner at this restaurant and we started talking about our families and about life. I told her about my grandfather who was a Holocaust survivor. He taught me, no matter how dark it gets in life, we need to find our inner light. I think that compassion is a big thing. It was very important for both of us that this movie has a message. It’s not necessarily that in super hero movies usually the bad guys are being killed by the good guys and the end. We wanted to have a profound message that everyone can relate to and take home and actually practice it.
Q: What is your favorite thing about Diana, aka Wonder Woman?
What I love most about Diana, I feel she embodies the most wonderful qualities I love in people. She is curious, warm, and loving. She is very inclusive. She assumes the best out of everyone. She is curious, and she is sassy, and she has her own attitude. She is wonderful but at the same time she is not trying to be perfect. She can be very vulnerable and she can be confused and naïve and worried, but fixed on her mission and do everything. I love everything about her because she is not perfect, she is whole and interesting.
Q: As far as fighting styles, is there a discipline you enjoy the most?
As far as fighting styles, we’ve been working with the most professional people. We had an amazing second unit director, Damon Caro. We did a lot of different types of martial arts, but we mostly focused on our site choreography; just because there was so many and time was limited. I did a lot of sword…a lot of this [visual movement] and sword work, and this [visual movement]. There wasn’t something in particular. I did a lot of boxing just because I enjoy it and it helped me build my body. Also it was very explosive and explosive movement is something very important for my character. But I didn’t go through judo or capoeira or these types of martial arts.
Q: Talk about the bumps and bruises.
I was bruised all the time. Nothing major. A mark here and a mark there, a mark here and a mark there. The most painful thing that happened to me was when we shot in Italy and we were shooting this fight sequence and I stepped on a sea urchin. That was painful. Honestly we got to work with such professionals that they made sure that once we got to set we were one hundred percent ready. There is no room for any question marks or mistakes. It’s been challenging weather wise, but it’s worth it.
Wonder Woman is currently showing in theatres nationwide.
For more information visit the film’s official website at, http://wonderwomanfilm.com/
Interview by Izumi Hasegawa – @HNW_Izumi
Edited by: Jody Taylor – @RealJodyTaylor
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